How to pronounce stay in American English

IPA /steɪ/ Syllables 1 · stay Stress 1st syllable

STAY

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Americans pronounce stay as STAY (/steɪ/). You'll hear it in sentences like "Stay away from the lake" or "I'd rather stay home than go out" — more examples below.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "stay".

1 syllable, 3 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

s/s/

Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.

t/t/

Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Keep your jaw relaxed. Stop the air, then release with a puff.

ay/eɪ/

Start with your jaw slightly open and the front of your tongue forward and slightly up. Glide upward, your jaw closes a little more and your tongue arches higher toward the roof of the mouth.

In real conversation

Hear "stay" in the wild.

Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.

"He enjoys long-distance running in the morning to stay fit."

hee uhn·JOYZ lahng DIH·stuhns RUH·nuhng uhn dhuh MOR·nuhng tuh STAY FIHT

"He participated in intramural sports to stay active and social."

hee per·TIH·suh·pay·duhd ihn ihn·truh·MYUUR·uhl SPORTS tuh STAY AK·tuhv and SOH·shuhl

"He sat in the front row to stay focused during lectures."

hee SAT ihn dhuh FRUHNT ROH tuh STAY FOH·kuhst DUUR·uhng LEHK·cherz

"He wears moisture-wicking clothing to stay dry."

hee WAIRZ MOYS·cher WIH·kuhng KLOH·dhuhng tuh STAY DRAHY

"I can't go with you, therefore I'll stay here."

ahy KANT GOH wihth yoo DHAIR·for ahyl STAY HEER

"It's a pity we couldn't stay longer."

ihts uh PIH·dee wee KUU·duhnt STAY LAHNG·ger

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Questions

Questions people ask about this.

Is the American pronunciation of "stay" different from British English?

American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "STAY" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.